Today is December 30th, the thirteenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty. It has been three days since Yang Sichang came to Shashi, Jiangling County, Jingzhou Prefecture, Huguang Province.
Shashi has a long history and was known as Jiangjin, Xia Shou and Jinxiang in ancient times.
As early as more than 3,000 years ago, Shashi was the outer port of Yingdu, Chu State. By the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Shashi had become one of the twelve major commercial cities in the country, and the "Century Commercial Port" was born.
For thousands of years, Chinese historical and cultural celebrities Qu Yuan, Chu State Ling Yin Sun Shuao, the loyal and benevolent martial artist Guan Yu, the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu, and the famous Ming Dynasty Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng have all left traces of their lives in Shashi.
Although Shashi is now just a town under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou Prefecture, its commercial prosperity is far greater than that of Jingzhou Prefecture.
Someone once wrote: "There are ninety-nine lanes, each row occupies one lane; boats and cars are gathered together, and the prosperity of Jiayu is even worse than that of the capital and Gusu today."
It is precisely because Shashi is so rich and prosperous that there is no need to worry about the supply of materials, so Yang Sichang temporarily set up his supervisor's headquarters in Xu Garden, also known as Xujia Garden, in Shashi.
At this moment, Yang Sichang had confirmed the news of the fall of Xiangyang and the murder of King Xiang, but the news of the fall of Luoyang and the murder of King Fu were still limited to folk rumors, and he was sending people to confirm.
The previous time he went to Sichuan to supervise the Xiancao rebel army failed, and the two Xiancao rebels were able to escape Sichuan and return to Huguang, which already caused Yang Sichang to suffer a great mental setback.
After receiving the report that Xiangyang had fallen and King Xiang was in trouble, he suddenly felt that the "suppression of thieves" military and his own future had completely fallen into despair.
At the beginning, when he went to Sichuan to supervise the suppression of the two traitors Xian Cao, he often stood on the bow of the ship when he was not dealing with military affairs, pointing out the mountains and rivers with his staff and Qing guests, commenting on the victory, and admiring the scenery. How high-spirited he was.
But now, his appearance has almost completely changed, especially after receiving the news from Xiangyang, he can hardly control himself, his face is haggard and sallow, and he has no look of the past.
It would be his fifty-fourth birthday in two months, but he really didn't know where he would be then.
He had not eaten for two whole days, and he was worried about the overall situation of the suppression of bandits. He was deeply afraid that the suppression would be ruined. Under the criticism of the courtiers, even if he was still the same as before, he was afraid that he would not be able to survive.
Today, all the generals and officials came to hold a military meeting, but Yang Sichang felt extremely depressed in his heart. He often looked to the north in a daze.
But he understood the mood of the generals better at this time. When he was about to leave the military meeting hall, he still kept his spirits up and said in a heavy voice: "Since I took office, I have endured many hardships and I want to make meritorious deeds." The army serves the imperial court.
Unexpectedly, the suppression campaign suffered repeated setbacks, leading to the fall of Xiangyang and the death of King Xiang, which was unexpected.
Although he has been a supervisor for two years, his management has been miserable, but he has made some small achievements. How can he let it go to waste?
The Emperor has been kind to me, and we should work together to do the same, report the Emperor's great kindness, and protect the people of Li.
You all must not be discouraged and despair, and miss the opportunity to make up for the lost situation. I am willing to encourage you all! "
…………
Yang Sichang actually didn't believe what he just said. He just had a very slim hope in his heart, praying for a miracle to happen and the suppression to be reversed.
Occasionally, the "chirping" of birds could be heard outside the window, but Yang Sichang's mind was too busy with thoughts to listen carefully.
He thought in his mind that the two generals Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong were arrogant and domineering and did not listen to orders, but there was nothing he could do about it. Then he thought about how the court would be in an uproar when they got the news, and they would impeach each other one after another. It is reported that he wasted millions of money, but the suppression campaign was defeated and he fell into the trap of the vassal king.
Yang Sichang knew very well that in the past decades, although he had never participated in forming a party, he had never been able to escape from the sectarian struggle between the government and the opposition. Just like his father Yang He, he suffered a lot in this sectarian struggle. Unfortunately, he is still being scolded after his death, and he himself lives in the storm of family struggles every day.
"Those people..."
He said in his heart: "If you seize this opportunity, you will never let me go!"
At this time, Yang Sichang thought about the emperor's "holy favor" for him, but after thinking about it, he still felt unsure. He sighed unconsciously and blurted out: "The holy favor is not static, let alone Your temperament today!"
He returned to the reclining chair and reclined, and couldn't help but remember that when the ship passed Jingzhou a few days ago, he suddenly felt cold and hot, so he never landed to see His Highness King Hui.
This morning, he sent his family member Yang Zhong to ride to Jingzhou with his greeting card to meet with Liu Jifang, the director of Prince Hui's Mansion. He said that after performing the congratulatory ceremony in Shashi tomorrow, he would go to meet Prince Hui to wish him a happy New Year.
Now he still plans to personally test the tone of King Hui Zhu Changrun. First, he wants to reassure King Hui that Jingzhou will be safe. Second, he wants to test King Hui's tone on the fall of Xiangyang in order to deduce the emperor's attitude.
Thinking of this, he suddenly stood up and shouted: "Come here!"
A servant came in quickly and cautiously, and stood respectfully in front of the bed. Yang Sichang asked him if Yang Zhong had returned from Jingzhou. The servant told him that he had come back, and because he saw that he was resting, he did not dare to drive away in surprise. He was now waiting in the side room to be summoned. .
He immediately asked his servant to call Yang Zhong to the bedside and asked, "Have you seen Liu Chengfeng here?"
Yang Zhong replied respectfully: "I met Liu Chengfeng in Jingzhou and informed him of my intention to go forward to see His Highness King Hui."
Yang Sichang raised his head and asked with concern: "Has the time for the meeting been agreed upon?"
Yang Zhong persuaded him and said: "Liu Chengfeng immediately went into the palace to report to His Highness King Hui. He has been gone for a long time, but...please don't be angry, sir. King Hui said...he said...please don't be angry, sir." , If you don’t want to go to court, then you won’t go.”
Yang Sichang felt a chill in his heart, but he still asked without giving up: "Don't be verbose! What is King Hui's oral message? Tell it quickly."
Yang Zhong timidly said: "Liu Chengfeng... passed down the oral message of His Highness King Hui... 'Mr. Yang would like to see me, so please ask Yang to go see King Xiang first.'"
After hearing these words, Yang Sichang trembled all over, and his eyes suddenly darkened. He leaned slumped on the recliner. However, he had already developed a special skill after being with the king for a long time.
In an instant, his expression returned to its apparent calmness, and he never showed too much panic or lost his normalcy in front of the servants.
He said slowly and softly: "Bring me the face wash!"
There were servants outside the house who had prepared various things for him in case he needed it at any time. In just a moment, the servants heard the sound and lifted the curtain and came in to wait for him to wash his face.
Yang Sichang suddenly felt chills all over his body. He added a purple squirrel robe to his round-collar officer's casual clothes. Then, with strong energy, he walked out of the flower hall and stood under the eaves.
The servants waiting outside saw him and stood aside in silence with their hands down, as before, but Yang Sichang also saw a heavy look of sadness on their faces.
A cloud floated into the distance in the sky, and then disappeared. He suddenly recalled the banquet given by the emperor and the farewell party with all the officials outside Guangning Gate a year and a half ago when he was leaving the capital. He also thought of his ambition and majesty when he first arrived in Xiangyang. Situation, I can't help but sigh in my heart: "Life is like a dream!"
He lowered his head and returned to the flower hall. He steeled himself and wanted to review some urgent military documents, but suddenly he heard someone's voice coming from outside the flower hall.
Yang Sichang asked softly: "Who is speaking in the courtyard?"
